Thursday, November 6, 2008

Greenville, Ohio

Just looking at the map you would never know the history that we found in Greenville, OH just an hour drive north of Dayton. From the information we picked up at the Welcome Center we chose the KitchenAid plant tour and the Garst Museum. It was a rainy day making "inside" activities a good choice!

KitchenAid Stand Mixer Factory Tour

This hour tour was conducted by one of the "production associates" (workers) after we put on our walkman(to hear over the factory noise) and safety glasses furnished by the company.

The first mixer was displayed in their heritage exhibit showing the improvements over the years. All of the attachments old and new fit all of the mixers old or new. What a concept--leaving that part of the mixer unchanged! So if you can find attachments in a thrift store they will fit your mixer no matter what year you purchased it. The same goes for the bowls--any age bowl will fit any age mixer. They are making glass ones again making it possible to use them in the microwave.

The first KitchenAid stand mixer was produced for commercial bakers in 1908. A husband made a smaller version for his wife in 1919. It weighed 68 pounds. It took him 4 days to make one mixer. The housewives would sell them door-to-door for $189. Part of there selling point was that it was a great kitchen aid, this became their name!

Today, they make hundreds of mixers every day in at least 50 different colors! The motors on the stand mixers are assembled at the plant.Drop-in motors are used in the hand mixers and blenders. The gear is made from kevlar. The same material used in bullet-proof vests.A mixer is pulled off the line, taken apart and checked. If something is wrong all the mixers made from that time are taken off and checked. Quality control seems very evident.You can call the 800 number listed on the band around your mixer and get any information you might need. There is a real person to talk to you! Any mixer that leaves a store has to be returned to the factory and be completely taken apart and reassembled before it can be resold. It is labeled refurbished. This includes the wedding gift that is returned unopened.This is true for their other appliances, also. Buying a refurbished mixer/appliance can be a good deal!We were impressed with how clean and neat the factory appeared with all the activity that goes with manufacturing!

Of course we were encouraged to drive uptown and visit their store! Drool! Drool! What a variety of fun "kitchen aids" in a rainbow of colors! We did purchase a mesh permanent filter to put in our coffee pot, hopefully no more coffee grounds in cup because that paper filter folded up!

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About Me

We are a couple living on a Prairie acreage in the mid-west. We've traveled "life" together for nearly 50 years. Traveling by car to places off the beaten path. Never taking the same route home is our tradition! Retirement brought the opportunity to deliver new Winnebago Motor Homes all over the US and Canada, visiting new places, learning about the history of an area, and tasting the local cuisine. We will be sharing with you what we see & learn on our travels through this season of our lives! Since our life is a journey we will also be sharing life lessons learned over the years. Come travel with us!